Tallinn traffic gets timely boost

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The airport expects leisure traffic to soar when Estonia joins the European Union in May

Tallinn airport is expecting strong growth in passenger traffic this year as Estonia prepares to enter the EU in May. Last year the location welcomed 716,000 passengers, a year-on-year increase of 20%, and the airport authority expects traffic to total close to 900,000 in 2004.

Tallinn Airport chairman of management board Rein Loik told TRW: ?We cater mainly for business traffic, which represents 72% of the total, but we are expecting a big increase in leisure traffic despite the abolition of intra-EU duty-free. The increase in traffic will help to compensate for this.? Loik added that the expansion of flag carrier Estonian Air?which has added three extra weekly flights to London and Oslo plus new services to Copenhagen, Munich and Hamburg?will help the airport meet its targets.

Tallinn airport recently extended the contract of duty-free operator SAS Trading, allowing the retailer to double its space at the expense of rival Stevela Duty Free, a joint venture between Gebr Heinemann and a local company. SAS Trading president Patric Sjöberg told the ACI Europe Airport Trading Conference earlier this month that his company had decided on a price-cutting campaign in its stores in EU accession countries in a bid to convince travellers of the value of airport shopping, before and after abolition. The operator is to adopt a single-price policy for all passengers, regardless of destination.